The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-05-26
WANTED.

Farmers Clubs to Read and Answer
the Following Questions Through
the Progressive Farmer.
We, the farmers of this and other
counties, feed and clothe the nations,
run all the railroads, send all the ships
and steamboats, over the waters, pay
seventy-five one hundredths Of all the
taxes, do the same proportion of vot-
ing, and yet we have no favors shown
us by any legislation, except protec-
ton of lfe-I need not say property,
for that is taxed to support just what
we do not want, and in many instances
what we could better do without. Take
professional men-the doctor, the
lawyer and the professional politician,
and what are they worth to us Well,
let us step and see:
First, the doctor. We "cant" very
well do without the doctor. We need
him to adjust the dislocated joint,
splinter the broken limb and distribute
pills and a little morphine to the suf-
ferer in other cases some liquids,
powders, &C., &c, and so on. But we
want to know why this M. D. can
leave his home and goto Mixes house
and leave five cents worth of drugs,
or dregs, perhaps, and then to Joe's
house and leave about the same amount
in cost and value, and then over to
the widow Peggy's house, and leave
two pills, and M dose of powders,
and then to Jake's house and tell him
all he needs is a little oil, and has him
to walk five miles to some store and
pay the bill for himself or go back
without it, and then on by Toms and
Dawes and Bob's, and the widow
Katie's, and old Uncle Remus's, and
one or more other places that [ do not
now remember, and this poor over
worked M. D. has to do all this from
eight o'clock a. m. till eleven o'clock
a. m. for the pitiful sum of only three
dollars at each place, amounting to
eighteen or twenty dollars only. And
when upon a correct inventory he has
at stake one horse worth $50, n sad
die worth $5.37 IL, contents of saddle
pockets $9.87 IL. The M. D. him
self-well, we will not price him, for
in many cases we would get the fig
ures too high, and in a few we might
get them a little too low. So we will
place him on a level with the common
farmer, it won't do to average him
with our leading farmers, he aDon't
stand the test. So we will taxi. the in
ventory as it stands in dollars and
cents, and see what amount of capital
this man has invested, and only makes
eighteen or twenty dollars in three
hours. The amount invested is
l Horse, $50
l Saddle, 537l-2
Contents of Saddle Bags, ss7l-2
Total, SIS 25
But there is one relief, consola-
ton to this M. D. By and through
class legislation he can collect these
amounts according to law, and the
poor chaps against whom he holds
these accounts may work it out at SO
cents per day, which will only take the
poor nan six days to pay the bill, and
TO- count This M. D. will get thirty
six days Of labor out of his patients
for his three hours service and a few
light bread pills. But it is a great con-
ISOLATION to the parents and friends of
the deceased to say, "Well, the poor
child, or the poor relative, is dead, but
you all did your duty; you sent for
the doctor, and he came, and that is |
very ~consoling to you" "Well,. yes,
it is, very, to the amount of about $75
or 500, chats about ALLY
We will next take the lawyer. He |
is certainly the most expensive and
useless machine we have. What use
has the farmer and mechanic for the
lawyer? The money kings and some
other monopolies may have something
for the lawyer to do in the way of
prying into things they should let
alone-trying sometimes to have men
perjure MISUNDERSTANDING injustice
where justice should be, consuming
time that belongs to taxpayers by long
wrangles where they talk much and say
but little, and after they are done with
their "clatter" the honorable court, with
very great dignity, and deep solemnity, |
to which we (the Taxpayers add about
a three or four thousand dollar annual
salary, pay his honor just to tell us
where we missed the figure a little
morsel, in point of z-a-w Qaw); don't